


Sugar, Yes Please

by FallingLikeThis



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Craigslist, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, wedding au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-13 21:24:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4537923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingLikeThis/pseuds/FallingLikeThis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Wedding Date Needed”</p><p>Let’s cut to the chase. I need a fake date for my ex’s wedding. Someone attractive, aged 20-30, who wouldn’t mind pretending that we’ve been together for a while. Wedding is in one week. Please include picture with reply.</p><p>Or Louis' ex is getting married and craigslist is his best bet for finding a quick date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sugar, Yes Please

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thezaynlife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thezaynlife/gifts).



> I loved writing this. If I get the chance, I am going to come back and flesh it out, like a lot. I had so many plans for this but in the end, I just didn't have time to do them all.

Louis stares forlornly at the invitation in his hands.

He refuses to believe that Nick picked out the design. It’s far too classy for that to be the case. Nick was always flashy patterns and garish colour choices. He was never subtle or subdued. That’s what Louis lov— That’s what Louis miss— That’s what Louis _remembers_ most about him.

He’s put off replying to the invitation until the last possible second. He wasn’t going to go. Kind of doesn’t _want_ to go. But his pride and morbid curiosity drives him to finally fill out the reply card. It’s been two fucking years since he and Nick broke up. He should be able to handle going to his ex’s wedding.

There were _reasons_ they had broken up. _Good_ reasons. Louis has bouts of doubt now and then, where he has trouble remembering exactly what those reasons were, but he takes comfort in the fact that he still remembers they _existed_. He’s not completely pathetic yet.

He pauses, eyeing the _+1_ box. Does he check it? He doesn’t have anyone to take as an actual date. He could ask Liam or Niall to go with him but that would look too much like what it was, Louis needing support from his friends. He can admit that he needs support on occasion, but he’d rather not admit it to the ex he’s apparently still not completely over. No, Louis decides, he can’t take a friend. He _must_ take a date, like an actual, honest-to-goodness _date_. Preferably someone who wouldn’t mind pretending that they’ve been together for a while.

Louis scoffs at himself. He doesn’t need a date. He is totally secure enough to go stag to his ex’s wedding. He’s a freaking grown-up. He drops the reply card on a side table and walks over to his bar to pour himself a nice glass of Scotch.

Three drinks and twenty minutes of Louis resolutely _not thinking about it_ later, Louis picks up the reply card again and checks the _+1_ box. Then, he gets the card in the post before he has a chance to change his mind. Now, he just has to _find_ his plus one.

*

Louis hesitates to start an online dating profile even though Liam swears by them. But Liam is still an innocent little pup who believes the best in people. Louis learned better a long time ago. It’s times like this that Louis wishes Harry knew how to pick a damn side because there’s no way Louis can turn to his best mate for advice when said mate is still just as close with Louis’ beloved— no, _dreaded_ ex.

He could pull out his little black book, all of his past one night stands that had hoped to be something more, men and women that hadn’t even had the privilege of seeing his bedroom but longed to. But even if one of them would go with him, it would feel wrong, he thinks. Like he was leading them on. Louis may be outspoken, occasionally harsh with his opinions, but he’s not cruel.

After spending a full agonising day worrying over it, Louis finally decides to confide in Niall. By text.

_I need a fake date for Nick’s wedding. Help me._

Louis waits a good twenty minutes for a reply before remembering that there’s a big football match tonight. Niall’s team, Derby County, is playing which means Niall is out at the pub watching with his drinking buddies.

Sighing, Louis gives up for the day and goes to bed.

The clock reads 2:15am when his phone beeps with a notification.

_Haha. Sounds like a personal problem to me!_

That does it. Starting tomorrow, he’s getting new friends.

Louis groans, throws his phone down, and goes back to sleep.

*

Of course, in typical Louis fashion, he waits until the last possible minute to worry about the wedding again. Louis has one week to find a date or he’ll be attending the wedding with _his shame_.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Sitting in the relative comfort of his living room, Louis drags his laptop off of the coffee table and pulls up Craigslist. He sees the _Community_ listing first. There are several categories for things like activities, events, carpooling, volunteers; nothing that’s particularly helpful to Louis. He sees one marked “general” and clicks on it to learn more about its contents.

 _General_ covers ads and requests for seemingly everything.

 

“Female needs URGENT cash help”

“Any good films on Netflix?”

“Clairvoyant & Spiritual Healer”

“Seeking a loan from a genuine person for a car”

 

Louis thinks this may be the place for him. If he’s going to ask for something ridiculous and quite possibly crazy, the request will be right at home here on the island of misfit requests. He decides to look around a bit more before he commits though.

Hitting the back button on his browser, Louis finds the _Personals_ section next.

There aren’t many categories where romance or sex aren’t a concern. There’s _Missed Connections_ , which doesn’t suit Louis’ needs at all. _Rants and Raves_ sounds interesting but Louis doesn’t even check it out because he doubts he’ll find any help in there. _Strictly Platonic_ is his last option.

Clicking the link leads to a page asking for your preference: m4w, m4m, w4w, w4m, t4m, etc. The list goes on and Louis’ first thought (after looking up the meanings for the abbreviations) is that asking for a preference is a bit of a contradiction isn’t it? If you’re looking for a strictly platonic friend, would you really care what their gender was? He supposes some people may have more specific needs than others. Louis’ need right now is pretty specific after all.

So, does he post his need for a fake date to his ex’s wedding in the strictly platonic personals or in the general community section?

Eh, Louis shrugs, why not do both?

He spends a good hour trying to figure out his wording. Harry would be such a help right now if Louis could ask for it. He’s always been pretty eloquent when it comes to putting words to paper. Eventually, he just clicks the m4m link and posts:

“Wedding Date Needed”

_Let’s cut to the chase. I need a fake date for my ex’s wedding. Someone attractive, aged 20-30, who wouldn’t mind pretending that we’ve been together for a while. Wedding is in one week. Please include picture with reply._

It’s clear, it’s to the point, and Louis posts it, adding a picture of himself, before he can think about how wrong this could all go. And then he repeats the whole process in the community section.

 

*

 

The first notification comes two hours later and Louis sighs with relief that _someone_ actually replied. But then he sees the message left for him and his relief falls away quite suddenly.

“Oh, that’s just gross,” he says to himself as he closes out the email. Apparently, “strictly platonic” translates to “show me your dick” to some people. Or maybe that guy was just _really_ proud of his dick tattoo. Louis shudders at the thought.

What follows the first message is an abundance of sex offers to get his mind off his ex, no less than two offers for one free therapy session, and absolutely no real prospects for a date to the damned wedding.

Louis is fucked.

 

*

 

_Who dumped who?_

Louis stares at the subject line of his latest message and debates opening it. He’s almost given up hope of finding a date. He’s now got two days until the wedding. He’ll probably just end up dragging Niall along. Of course, there’s still that one little spark of pride that refuses to die and that is what spurs Louis into opening the message that he’s almost certain is therapist number three about to offer his services, for a reasonable fee, of course.

But when he opens the message, it’s empty. There’s no picture, no explanation. Nothing.

Louis is both dubious about this and intrigued. He decides to answer.

 

_It was mutual._

 

He sends it and waits to see if there’s a reply. There is.

 

_Then why do you need a fake date. Haven’t moved on yet?_

Louis considers telling them to fuck off but it’s kind of refreshing to not being getting offers of sex that he neither needs nor wants.

 

_Maybe a little. Or maybe I just don’t have time for actual dating._

 

Louis can practically hear the guy’s scoff with his next message.

 

_If you’ve got time for craigslist, you’ve got time for dating._

 

Louis chuckles.

 

_Touché._

 

They haven’t said much but Louis finds that he’s enjoying himself. That’s maybe why the next email catches him by surprise. It’s just a picture. A blurry picture, but it’s clear enough that he can tell they guy isn’t completely unattractive. Louis sends off another message.

 

_You’re hired._

 

At the last second he adds his phone number, hoping the guy will use it. It’s so much easier talking when you can hear the inflections in the other person’s voice, can hear when they laugh and when they sigh.

His phone rings a few minutes later, his screen announcing an unknown number.

“Am I getting paid for this?” Louis’ stranger asks after Louis’ hello.

“If need be,” Louis acquiesces, “but I was hoping you’d just do it out of the goodness of your heart.”

There’s a soft chuckle on the other end of the line. “Yeah, alright.”

“So, it’d probably be a little more convincing if we knew each other’s names. I’m Louis.”

“Oh, yeah, m’Zayn.”

And from there, they spend the next few hours hashing out the details of their “relationship”, getting their stories straight. They make plans to meet the next day over coffee and hang up.

Louis adds Zayn’s number to his contacts, entering him in as Zaynie Poo. It’s cutesy and obnoxious and exactly something Louis would do to someone he was in a real relationship with, especially if he knew they hated it. He bets Zayn would hate it. Louis already feels a million times better about this whole mess.

He has a date.

 

*

 

_Family emergency. Can’t make it to coffee._

 

Louis stares at his phone with a growing sense of dread. Obviously, he’s worried about whatever emergency has pulled Zayn away. But he’d more worried about what this might mean for his date tomorrow.

 

_Sure. Do what you’ve got to do. Do you need to cancel for tomorrow, too?_

Louis waits. He hopes. He prays. If Zayn cancels on him, he’ll have to drag someone in off the street. He doesn’t even care what they look like anymore, the need to not seem pathetic is too strong.

 

_Thanks for understanding. I’ll be there tomorrow. Promise._

 

Louis lets out a cry of joy, ignoring the looks he gets from the other people in the coffeehouse. He’s still got a date. He’ll be alright.

 

*

 

Louis waits outside the church for Zayn. He’s unreasonably anxious. He has no reason to be. It’s not like this is a _real_ date.  But he’s about to meet up with Zayn for the first time and he still doesn’t really know what Zayn looks like. Just that he’s got dark hair and a nice smile. They’d coordinated their outfits on the phone the other night, so he at least knows what to look for—

“Louis?”

There’s a beautiful man in a black suit walking up to Louis holding a bouquet of pink flowers. For a second Louis thinks that maybe it’s Nick’s groom and he’s irrationally jealous. Does the universe hate him? Nick gets this beautiful man _and_ bits and pieces of Louis heart, and all Louis gets is a fake date that apparently has issues with punctuality?

“I thought that was you,” the man smiles at him, stubbled cheeks framing a smile that only makes him more radiant. “Sorry about yesterday.”

Wait. Is _this_ Zayn? Holy fuck. Louis takes it all back. The jealousy, the irritation at Zayn’s slight tardiness, the words “strictly” and “platonic”.

“You look incredible,” Louis tells him once he’s finished drooling and his mouth is in working order again.

“Well, you’re one to talk. You’re gorgeous,” Zayn answers, but before he can say more they’re interrupted.

“Oh my god, Louis?”

Louis turns around to find none other than Nick standing behind him.

“Nick, hi.”

The flood of roiling emotions that were already batting around in Louis’ stomach decide to toss themselves around a bit more forcefully at the sight of the joyful groom.

“You look good,” Nick smiles, reaching out to wrap his arms around Louis in a welcoming hug.

“Thanks,” Louis says as Nick pulls back. “You look great. Happy.”

It’s true, now that he has a chance to really look. Nick does look happy. He looks beautiful. Something deep in Louis’ chest loosens at the sight.

A second later, Louis feels a hand nudging his own, fingers twinging tightly.

“And who might this be?” Nick asks, his expression still cheerful even as he glances down at their joined hands.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Nick. This is my boyfriend Zayn. Zayn, this is Nick, one of the grooms,” Louis introduces them, the words he’d planned days ago sitting heavy on his tongue.

“Hello there,” Nick chirps, giving a little wave since Zayn has flowers in one hand and Louis’s hand in the other.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Zayn smiles back but it doesn’t reach his eyes which have taken on a strange steely shine as he looks at Louis’ ex. He extends the flowers to Nick. “Congratulations on your wedding.”

“Oh, how lovely,” Nick accepts the flowers, briefly bringing them up to his nose. “Thank you.”

“Well,” Louis says before things have a chance to get uncomfortable, pulling Zayn past Nick and into the church. “We’ll see you inside. Good luck.”

It may be his imagination but when they sit, Louis think’s maybe Zayn scoots next to him a little closer than necessary. He hopes it’s not his imagination.

And when Zayn leans over and whispers “those flowers were for you”, Louis feels a shiver run down his back as Zayn’s lips brush his ear.

 

*

 

It’s a beautiful ceremony. Nick and his groom, Tom, exchange vows that they wrote themselves, bringing tears to the eyes of most of their guests. Louis assumed he might shed a tear or two but not for the reason that he actually does. He’d thought seeing his ex-boyfriend getting married would wound him, the pain of loss, of finality, bringing the tears to his eyes. But that is not the case. Because Zayn holds Louis’ hand the whole way through and Louis gets swept up in the romance of it, the sharing of beautiful promises with the person you love enough to promise forever to. He’s not sad for his own loss, he’s happy for Nick’s gain.

Soon, the two men are being announced as husbands and sharing a sweet kiss that hurts less than Louis thought it would. Of course, he’s got Zayn still holding his hand so that probably helps a little.

 

*

 

At the reception, Nick and Tom smash cake in each other’s faces, and Louis watches with longing for a day he gets to share that with someone. He knows better now than to wish it could be with Nick. The whole day has been an exercise in realising that it’s okay to move on, that Louis is actually ready for it and Zayn’s been there the whole time, smoothing the way. Louis admires him for that, being willing to be there for a complete stranger with no expectations of receiving anything for your trouble. Zayn is quite lovely in ways that even his beautiful face can’t convey.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Zayn murmurs to him as the happy couple share the first dance. “Is it too hard?”

“No,” Louis answers truthfully, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “It’s just right.”

He takes Zayn’s hand and pulls him into a slow dance as the dancefloor opens to all couples. Arms resting on Zayn’s shoulders, hands loosely wrapped around the back of his neck. “Thank you for doing this.”

Louis words are quiet, carrying the weight of his gratitude and the possibility of something _more_.

“Anytime,” Zayn replies and it’s just as heavy as Louis’ comment. “I’m happy to be here.”

He’s gazing at Louis like maybe he thinks he’s hiding something precious beneath all the layers of clothes and flesh, like he wants to unwrap him and go on a hunt for whatever treasure he’s got buried deep inside.

Louis doesn’t know what to say so he tugs his date closer and lays his head on Zayn’s shoulder, closing his eyes and breathing him in as they twirl to cheesy songs like “ _Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now_ ”. At some point this date stopped being fake.

Opening his eyes, Louis peers over Zayn’s shoulder and see’s Nick and Tom dancing, laughing happily into each other’s ears. He wants that, too.

“Hey, so, are you busy on the 29th of August?” Louis pulls away from Zayn’s shoulder to ask.

“I don’t think so,” Zayn answers, confusion crinkling his eyes. “Why?”

Louis smirks. “It’s my mate’s birthday and I could really use a fake date.”

“Nah,” Zayn says, pressing closer, hands at the small of Louis’ back, pulling him in. “I don’t fake date anymore. I have a tendency to get attached.”

“Ok, it’ll just have to be a real date then,” Louis says with a carefree shrug.

“Yeah,” Zayn chuckles, tongue pressing behind his teeth. “Yeah, I think I can handle that.”

“You play your cards right, that won’t be all you’ll handle,” Louis tells him doing some complicated moves with his eyebrows.

“Well, then I guess you’d better prepare yourself because I am an excellent card player,” Zayn warns, trying and failing to replicate Louis’ eyebrow moves.

Louis certainly hopes so.

The two of them flirt and dance the night away, stopping only when it’s time to see the newlyweds off. They watch hand in hand as butterflies are released and all the children blow bubbles as the husbands walk down the path of onlookers to the limo that will take them to the start of their new life together.

It’s wonderful and bittersweet. It’s an end, but it’s also a beginning. And Louis thinks that they’re all off to a pretty good start.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
